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TAMPA  Next year, a giant Confederate flag may tower above the tree line near the junction of Interstate 75 and Interstate 4. The Sons of Confederate Veterans wants drivers in the Tampa area to see the massive flag  30 feet high and 50 feet long  atop a 139-foot pole, the highest the Federal Aviation Authority would allow. It would be lit at night.

With the pole already in the ground and building permits in hand, the group is on its way to having what it calls the "world's largest" Confederate flag in place by mid 2009. The group just needs about $30,000 more, said Douglas Dawson, Florida division commander. Several nearby business owners don't mind. It's history, they say, and it's on private property. Tampa resident Marion Lambert owns the small triangular plot just west of Interstate 75 along U.S. 92 E.

But when Hillsborough County NAACP president Curtis Stokes heard about the plans to have the flag flying next year, he was shocked. "I'm surprised that they would allow something like this to go on in Hillsborough County," he said.
The county has wrestled with sensitive Confederate issues in the past. In 1994, the Confederate flag was removed from the county seal. Last year, county commissioners recognized Confederate commander Robert E. Lee on the same day they honored a black civic leader. Commissioners later apologized and haven't since recognized Lee.

It's the commissioners' responsibility to make sure plans don't move forward, Stokes said. The flag would send the wrong message about the county and it would be embarrassing because many visitors use the roads, he said. Code enforcement officers won't be able to stop the project because flags were removed from county sign regulations in 2004. County Commissioner Kevin White, whose district includes the flagpole site, could not be reached for comment Friday. ...snip

Who is the Sons of Confederate Veterans?
The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a national organization founded in 1896 that bills itself as a "historical, patriotic and nonpolitical organization dedicated to ensuring that a true history of the 1861 to 1865 period is preserved." It's open to male descendants of Confederate veterans.

The Florida division of the group has more than 1,500 members, according to its Web site. The group supported the proposed Confederate Heritage license plate, which did not pass this legislative session.

I think it's great that they identify themselves with the side that lost and have no shame. Yee-Haw!

At Coretta Scott King's funeral in early 2006, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert Kennedy, leaned over to him and whispered, "The torch is being passed to you." "A chill went up my spine," Obama told an aide. (Newsweek)

:eek: Not nice! I'm sorry - did I miss the fact they actually won the Civil War?

At Coretta Scott King's funeral in early 2006, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert Kennedy, leaned over to him and whispered, "The torch is being passed to you." "A chill went up my spine," Obama told an aide. (Newsweek)

I live in Hillbororugh County and only a few miles from where the flag will be erected.

The intersection of I-4 and I-75 is on the outskirts of Tampa and is a good welcoming gate for all the shitass yankees that come to the area. Also, all the stupid yankess that drive south on I-75 to Ft Myers, Naples and Sarasota will go by the flag. I like it. I will see it every time I drive into Tampa. Sweeeet!

They have a Confederate cemetery in Brandon where I live. Several Confederate veterans and their families are buried there. The Confederate flag flies at the cemetery. It is right on hwy 60 in a very busy part of Brandon. I salute the brave veterans that died defending the Constitution every time I go by the cemetery.

I live in Hillbororugh County and only a few miles from where the flag will be erected.

The intersection of I-4 and I-75 is on the outskirts of Tampa and is a good welcoming gate for all the shitass yankees that come to the area. Also, all the stupid yankess that drive south on I-75 to Ft Myers, Naples and Sarasota will go by the flag. I like it. I will see it every time I drive into Tampa. Sweeeet!

They have a Confederate cemetery in Brandon where I live. Several Confederate veterans and their families are buried there. The Confederate flag flies at the cemetery. It is right on hwy 60 in a very busy part of Brandon. I salute the brave veterans that died defending the Constitution every time I go by the cemetery.

Gator, this is Andersonville National Cemetery in Andersonville (Sumter County) Georgia.

Gator, this is Andersonville National Cemetery in Andersonville (Sumter County) Georgia.

What catches you eye here, compatriot?

You do know that more Confederate POWs were killed by the North than Union POWs were killed by Confederates don't you?

There were also more Union POWs than Confederate POWs so that made your chances of surviving Andersonville as an Union soldier better than a Confederate had of surviving a Union POW camp.

Another point of moral clarity. The Union troops were taken captive as they were trying to kill Americans and destroy American cities. The Confederates were Americans protecting their homeland from an invasion of murders.